We interrupt this regularly scheduled column to bring you this special news bulletin!
The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense, once the absolute shining point of this team, has gone missing. As in gone. As in AWOL (which is military-speak for absent without leave.) As in where the hell are they? As in, this team isn’t going to be as good as we thought they were going to be if they don’t show the hell up.
Ok…enough “as ins.”
I know most of you may have been looking forward to another break down of the roster and a look at the potential depth chart. Honestly, as I looked at last week’s depth chart, I couldn’t seen enough major changes to warrant another depth chart review. This is a more pressing issue, and we need to discuss it. After all, if we don’t, how will general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid know how to fix it? Right?
Okay, so looking at the defense, first we have to look at what’s missing. The most obvious is all-pro safety Eric Berry. We know this. It’s been thrown in our collective faces since the point in the offseason when Dorsey figured out he wasn’t going to get a deal done with the No. 29 wearing, cancer survivor. But is missing Berry the only reason the Chiefs weren’t able to stop the Los Angeles Rams (that still feels weird to type) from moving up and down the field.
Let’s pause here.
You’re probably sitting home and saying to yourself–or maybe out loud–Jason, they only scored three touchdowns. And, you would be right. But it wasn’t really the scoring that I was talking about. It was really the run defense.
On Saturday, the Chiefs allowed 142 yards of rushing by the Rams. What’s worse, the 142 yards were gained on 26 attempts. Don’t feel like doing math? That’s okay, I did it for you. The Rams gained 5.4 yards of offense every time they handed off the ball. That’s not okay. I don’t care if it’s the preseason or not. No team should be allowed to rip off chunks of yardage on the ground like that.
Do you know who else the Chiefs’ defense is missing? Inside linebacker Josh Mauga. Am I really to believe that the entire key to the Chiefs run defense is Josh Mauga? Last year the Chiefs had the eighth best rushing defense in the entire league. They only allowed 4.1 yards per carry. If they were to continue allowing this dismal 5.4 yards per carry average into the regular season, they would have the absolute worst rushing defense in the league and it wouldn’t even be close.
So, what’s wrong?
The Chiefs are also missing outside linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. Combined with Mauga and Berry, those are four starters from last year’s defense that haven’t seen the field yet this season. While it looks like Hali could be ready as early as this week for practice and a chance to knock the rust off during a preseason matchup with the Chicago Bears this Saturday, it doesn’t look like Houston will be available for quite some time.
Right now, the Chiefs first-team offense seems to be firing on all cylinders. This is something that has to continue if the Chiefs have any hopes of winning this division. Until the stars like Houston and Berry find their way back to the field, quarterback Alex Smith and his surrounding cast of characters will have to find a way to outscore opposing teams. When you look at the Chiefs first quarter of the season, that might be easier said than done.
The Chiefs open the season against the San Diego Chargers. While they are probably the worst team in the AFC West, their quarterback is still a guy named Phillip Rivers who knows how to score from any part of the field.
That week one contest is followed up with a trip to Houston to face the team the Chiefs beat twice last year–one of which was in the playoffs. While the Texans aren’t known as offensive powerhouses, if newly installed quarterback Brock Osweiler can start clicking with his offensive weapons anytime soon, they could be very dangerous. That’s not to mention their defense’s ability to slow down any team’s offense.
Week three brings the New York (football) Jets and four brings the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you think either of those teams are slouches in the scoring department, you’re fooling yourselves. And none of this was helped by the fact that it was announced earlier this week that the Steelers’ star running back Le’Veon Bell would now be available to face the Chiefs instead of remaining on suspension through the fourth week of the season.
All this comes back to one thing. The defense has got to figure it out. Period. They’ve
got to stop the run. One of these backup pass rushers has got to step up and fill the void left by Hali and Houston (Dadi Nicolas I’m looking right at you.) One of these defensive backs has got to step up and fill the large shoes left by Sean Smith when he traded the red and gold of Kansas City for the silver and black of his prison fatigues in Oakland (Phillip Gaines I’m looking at you.) Finally–and primarily in respect to this horrendous run defense we’ve seen thus far in the preseason–this defensive line has got to get its poop in a group. This shouldn’t be hard. Linemen Jaye Howard, Dontari Poe and Alan Bailey are all returning leaders in this group. You add rookie Chris Jones in the mix and they should be a giant brick wall that no running back can get through. I’m not sure why that’s not happening as of yet.
Is this piece a bit of an overreaction considering we’ve just hit the halfway mark of the preseason? I would say it probably is. Both defenses and offenses are still trying new things and getting them on tape to review later. But I’ve seen too many times where bad habits and downward trends noted in the preseason carry over to the regular season. I’m not even talking about the “winning” and “losing” here. That really means nothing, but I’m talking about bad tackling and bad decisions that lead to flags. I’m talking about letting yourself get blocked out of a play and allowing a team to gain 5.4 yards per rushing play.
What do you think? Does this Chiefs’ defense need to pull their collective heads out of their collective rear ends? Do you think defensive coordinator Bob Sutton can make this happen? Sound off below!
NOTE: The roster predictions will return next Monday as the Chiefs are required to cut down their roster to 75 by 30 August. We’ll get my piece in just before that and see how close we come. Deal?